Through a Glass Darkly: Alchemy and the Ripley Scrolls
Visual Identity, Exhibition, Architecture
Architecture and graphic design for Princeton University Library exhibition showcasing original Ripley alchemical scrolls
Revealing the secrets of medieval alchemy
Isometric collaborated with the Princeton University Library on an exhibition of rare books and artifacts on medieval alchemy—an ancient “science of change” believed to create elixirs granting eternal life and to transmute base metals to gold and silver. Alchemists coded their secrets in fantastical allegories of dragons and human-headed eagles, illustrating them onto super-long manuscripts known as the Ripley Scrolls. Of the 23 scrolls in existence, this exhibition displays two: an 18.5-ft. scroll attributed to George Ripley, circa 1590, and a smaller, more colorful version by Leonard Smethley from 1624. The exhibition is designed around these emblematic manuscripts, housed in two 20 ft.-long cantilevered cases that appear to float in the center of the gallery.
Contextualizing alchemy through immersive imagery
The Library’s curatorial goal was to exhibit the Ripley Scrolls in the appropriate historical context: built on Greco-Egyptian, Islamic, and late medieval traditions, and later influential to the thinking of scientists including Isaac Newton. The design embeds supergraphic imagery and verses from the scrolls in fields of bold color, creating a spectacular yet refined setting that immerses visitors in storytelling about the alchemists’ influences, patronage, and legacy. Curatorial text and object details are framed within wall-mounted and suspended scrolls, which refer to the original way manuscripts would have been displayed in pre-modern Europe.
